Don’t Call It Art: 10 Ways to Create Like a Kid Again by Austin Kleon
This is the best book I’ve read so far this year—mostly because it made me actually change my behavior. I wrote about how it inspired me to create bad art and waste things (which Austin linked in his newsletter today!) I promise you have to read this book.
(I also ordered more recommendations from him including Cruddy and One! Hundred! Demons! by Lynda Barry, Art Work by Sally Mann, and The Waste Books by Georg Christoph Lichtenberg. And I dug out my copy of Lynda Barry’s Syllabus and The Journal of Henry David Thoreau, 1837-1861.)
The Motern Method by Matt Farley
I discovered this book through Austin Kleon, and it was exactly the kick in the pants I needed. He doesn’t just preach the message create, create, create—he actually lives it. He’s written more than 26,000 songs, written, produced, and starred in 15-20 movies, and published several books. His philosophy is simple: make something, release it, then move on to the next thing. He wrote this book in about three months and openly admits there are probably typos because he cared more about shipping it than polishing it forever. It was a great reminder that we’ll probably never find the perfect balance between creating too little and creating too much. But it’s better to err on the side of making more things and letting them out into the world. I also ordered his book Motern Media No-Jokes Album Guide.
The Land and Its People by David Sedaris
This might be his funniest book yet. I literally—and I’ve never done this while reading—threw my head back and belly-laughed at parts. It reminded me why he’s one of my favorite writers: no one is as effortlessly funny and relatable as him. I also dug out my copy of David Sedaris Diaries: A Visual Compendium